WEDNESDAY
February 24, 2016
STATE BOUND!
Grant Union, Prairie City and Dayville/Monument teams head to playoffs
GU girls
host Neah-
Kah-Nie in
state playoff
‘HEART
WIN’ takes
Prairie City
boys to state
Lady Pros win second
at Wapiti District Tourney
Panthers face Joseph
at 6 p.m. Wednesday
By Angel Carpenter
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
LA GRANDE — The Grant Union Pros-
pector girls earned a state playoff game at
home, after placing second at the OSAA 2A
Wapiti District Basketball Tournament held at
Eastern Oregon University in La Grande.
The Prospectors (18-6, 10-2) will host the
Neah-Kah-Nie Pi-
rates (14-9, 11-3) on
Friday at 6 p.m. at
Grant Union in John
Day. Doors open at
5:20 p.m.
Admission to the
game is $6 for adults,
$4 for students.
The Lady Pros are
No. 6 in the OSAA
rankings, and the Pi-
rates are No. 15.
The Grant Union
girls entered the
district tournament
last Friday seeded
Contributed photo/Tanni second, behind No.
Wenger Photography 1-seeded
Burns,
Grant Union
ranked third in state.
Prospector
The Lady Pros
Samantha Brock
overpowered
the
drives down
Imbler Panthers on
court at the
Friday with a 37-25
Wapiti District
victory to advance to
Tournament last
the fi nals.
Friday.
“It was another
great defensive ef-
fort,” said head coach Mark Mosley. “We did
start slow offensively, but we made good ad-
justments in the crucial times, offensively, and
they were able to play together.”
Grant Union was up 18-9 at the half, hold-
ing the Panthers back completely in the second
quarter.
“In the fi rst half, we didn’t rebound as well
as we should have,” Mosley said, adding the
rebounding improved in the remainder of the
game, allowing them to limit the Panthers’
possessions.
In the third, Grant Union outshot Imbler
15-6.
The Panthers tried to make a comeback in
the fourth, shooting 10 in the quarter to Grant
Union’s eight, but the Prospectors took the
win.
Heather Mosley was high-scorer for the
game with 16 points.
The team was hampered by illness in that
JOHN DAY — The Prairie City Panther
boys earned their ticket to a Round One state
playoff game, competing against the Joseph
Eagles in Joseph at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It was the battle of the decade last Satur-
day for the Prairie City Panther boys, as they
beat Crane 68-58 to
earn third place in
the 1A-8 High Desert
District Tournament.
Head coach Jon-
athon Gill called the
victory a “heart win”
as the team played for
Ethan Camarena, a
starter who has been
out for two weeks,
recovering from an
injury.
“They
wanted
to do it for Ethan,”
Gill said. “I’m super
proud of them.”
Crane came out to The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
a strong start, keep- Prairie City
ing ahead of Prairie Panther Brandon
City throughout most Gillihan scores
of the fi rst quarter, and is fouled
but 10 points from during the 1A High
Panther Levi Burke, Desert District win
two three-pointers over the Crane
from Wyatt Williams Mustangs for third.
and fi ve points from
Garrett Hitz, including three of three from the
free-throw line, tied the score 21-21.
Williams hit another three-point shot off
Hitz’s steal in the second and added another
two points and, later, another three.
Dorran Wilson also came on fi re, earning
11 points in the quarter.
A turning point in the game came when
players went to the ground for the ball, a heat-
ed moment stirring some excitement from the
Prairie City crowd.
Shortly after, Panther Brandon Gillihan
took a steal and went up for two, was fouled
and sank a free throw, further energizing the
team and the Prairie City fans.
The Panthers went into the second half with
a 42-27 lead.
Crane outshot Prairie City in the third, 12-
8, but the Panthers still had a healthy 50-39
lead.
The Mustangs tried closing the gap in the
fourth, coming within two points of the Pan-
thers, 54-52.
See LADY Pros, Page B2
Contributed photo/Tanni Wenger Photography
Grant Union Prospector Heather
Mosley (33) gets the tip over Imbler
Panther Jacobi Rudd (50) in Friday’s
OSAA 2A Wapiti District Tournament.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Dayville/Monument Tiger Tanner Moodenbaugh scores over Jordan Valley
defense in last Saturday’s championship game.
Dayville-Monument boys
host state playoff on Friday
Tigers topple Jordan
Valley 52-46 for district
title
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
J
OHN DAY — After winning the
district championship, the Dayville/
Monument Tiger boys will host a
state playoff game Saturday at their
Dayville court.
Dayville School athletic director Tiffnie
Schmadeka said they’ll know the opponent
and time of the game late Wednesday, or
Thursday morning.
Admission will be $6 for adults and $4
for students.
The Dayville/Monument boys earned
the OSAA 1A-8 High Desert District bas-
ketball title with a 52-46 win Saturday over
Jordan Valley at Grant Union Junior-Senior
High School in John Day.
Led by Tiger head coach Jeff Schafer,
the fi ve starters — seniors Dakota Emerson,
Tanner Moodenbaugh and Jordan Bowlus
and juniors Hayden Schafer and Tanner
Walczyk — took on the Mustangs, staying
ahead the entire game, with the exception of
the fi rst three points of the game.
The Tigers were 11-8 over Jordan Valley
in the fi rst quarter, and out-shot the Mus-
tangs 11-7 in the second.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Dayville/Monument Tiger Dakota
Emerson pushes through Jordan
Valley defenders on his way to the
basket in the championship game.
See PANTHERS, Page B3
Dayville/Monument was ahead 39-28
going into the fourth when Jordan Valley
started gaining steady momentum. The
Mustangs came within two points of the
Tiger lead in the fi nal minute of the game.
The score was 48-46 with 29 seconds
left, when Tiger Hayden Schafer fi red off
a three-pointer, and Moodenbaugh added a
shot at the free-throw line for the win.
“Jordan Valley is a real tough team,”
See TIGERS, Page B2
Dayville/Monument Tiger Dakota Emerson (21)
breaks away in the hotly contested tournament
championship game against the Jordan Valley
Mustangs on Saturday.
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Prairie City’s Dorran Wilson (3) flies
up to sink a bucket for the Panthers.